An image created by news site SniffPetrol depicting Lotus CEO Dany Bahar dressed as "Baghdad Bob" was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back, prompting the automaker's PR department to take to the virtual pages of Facebook to defend the brand's honor. Although the post started out lighthearted enough, it quickly turned into something more contemptuous.

After dispelling rumors about the employment statuses of the company's CEO and Managing Director, the Facebook post veers off into a tangent that reeks of desperation. In the tone of an animal with its back against the wall, Lotus rips those associated with its former Caterham division and anyone else that might be trying to bring the company down.

"And whilst we're on the subject of jokes - do you know the latest F1 joke?,"Ě Lotus said on its Facebook page. "Mike Gascoyne, Caterham Group's Chief Technical Officer, has gone missing. Why? He's looking for the 30 to 40 points he predicted for the last F1 season. Funny."Ě

The post continues: "False rumour #3: Joe Saward is JUST an independent journalist.
Fact: He is an active Director on the Caterham Group Board.

And unlike some, we don't want to get too personal, so we'll leave it to you to judge how "ėindependent' his stories about Lotus are."Ě

Although we don't know exactly how bad things are inside the walls of Lotus, the Facebook post seems to indicate the company could be on life support. During part of the Facebook rant Lotus even says that the company is in a "very difficult phase."Ě No matter what the case, we doubt Lotus' Facebook rant (which is amazingly still up) will help the automaker's cause.